His Choice Wasn't Me (Cassidy Morgan) novel Chapter 5

The next moment Sarah opened her eyes, she was in an unknown warehouse. The smell of oil and rust filled the air.

A single shaft of light fell from a broken window, cutting across the dusty floor.

Sarah stirred, her eyes heavy, only to find her mouth sealed with rough tape and her hands tied behind her.

The ropes dug into her skin until her fingers throbbed.

Panic rushed through her chest like fire.

Footsteps echoed, quick then slowly, until the sound of someone she knew sent her heart into a frenzy.

The sight of James came to light.

Her eyes widened, pleading, screaming through silence.

When he appeared at the entrance, his face changed instantly. The fury and control he often carried dissolved into raw fear.

His eyes fixed on her; on the ropes, the tape, and the bruises forming at her wrists. His jaw clenched as if each detail was cutting him from the inside.

“Sarah…” His whisper cracked the air. He stepped forward, only to stop when the sharp click of a gun halted him.

The leader of the men, tall and lean with eyes hard as stone, raised his weapon calmly. “Not so fast.”

Another figure shifted nearby.

It was Tiana. She sat on a crate, one sleeve stained dark at the cuff. Her body slumped, but her eyes flickered alive.

When she glanced at one of the men, quick and sharp, Sarah’s stomach dropped. She recognized that look. It was nothing close to fear. At that moment, she knew this was another of Tiana’s plans.

The leader tapped the side of his pistol, his voice like gravel. “One life. One choice. You can only save one. Choose.”

The words were heavy, and final.

The silence that followed squeezed the air out of the room. James’s chest rose fast, his eyes darting from Sarah to Tiana, then back again, as though searching for a map out of a maze with no exit.

Sarah fought against the ropes, her wrists burning, her chest heaving. She tried to speak through the tape, but all that came was a muffled cry.

Her eyes screamed louder, wanting to tell him to choose her. To remember their son waiting for them at home. To remember everything they’ve been through together.

James looked at her, torn, his face twisted with grief. But when his eyes shifted to Tiana, his expression softened.

Tiana’s voice broke the silence, low and trembling, yet deliberate. “Save Sarah,” she whispered, her palms open as if surrendering. “She’s your wife. Let me go. Please.”

Her words fell with a sweetness too polished.

Sarah’s chest constricted. Even in this moment, Tiana was performing, scripting her martyrdom.

One of the men sneered. He flicked open a knife, dragging it cruelly along Tiana’s arm. Blood seeped through the fabric.

She gasped, but her cry was swallowed quickly, her face folding into a sorrow that felt rehearsed.

The leader stepped closer, his gun pressing hard against Tiana’s temple. “Make your decision,” he said coldly. “Now.”

The pressure in the room became unbearable. Sarah’s lungs felt crushed. She fought harder against the ropes, her teeth gnashing against the tape.

Her body shook with the desperate need to make her voice heard.

James’s face crumbled. He ran a hand over his head, his voice barely holding together. “Take me instead. Take my life if it will save them.”

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